Surrealist art including work by David Hockney to go under the hammer at Christie's

Surrealism developed in Europe in the aftermath of the First World War World War I in which artists depicted illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself.

Now some of the leading surrealist works are going on sale on March 23 at Christie’s in London, including work by Bradford’s David Hockney. The piece, called David Graves in a Harlequin Shirt, is estimated to fetch £3m to £5m.

Other work on sale includes Francis Bacon’s Triptych 1986-7, which is estimated to fetch £35m to £55m.

And an artwork entitled Mao by US artist Andy Warhol is estimated to fetch £600,000 to £800,000. A piece called “Personnage, oiseau, étoile dans un paysage” (Figure, Bird, Star in a Landscape) by Spanish artist Joan Miro is said to be worth £1.5m to £2.5m.

A Christie’s spokesman said: “Leading this sale is Pablo Picasso’s surrealist masterpiece La fenêtre ouverte (1929) — to be offered at auction for the first time — and René Magritte’s La lumière du pôle (1926–27). Several works by Magritte are also presented, spanning his oeuvre, with estimates ranging from £400,000 to £5,500,000.”